VYTP Research Database
The Virginia General Assembly established the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation in 1999, using funds obtained from the master settlement agreement with the four major U.S. tobacco companies.
Now renamed the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, the VFHY funds numerous initiatives, including research on the etiology and prevention of youth tobacco use, which is the focus of this report.
Research institutions participating in the Virginia Youth Tobacco Projects have included George Mason University, James Madison University, The University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, Virginia Tech, Eastern Virginia Medical School and The College of William and Mary — these institutions make up the Virginia Youth Tobacco Projects Research Coalition. In addition, VCU serves as the coordinating center for the VYTP Research Coalition and uses a portion of its VFHY support to fund additional small grants.
In its mandate from the VFHY Board, the VYTP was charged with the responsibility to build a statewide, coordinated program of multi-disciplinary research on youth tobacco use. In addressing that mandate, the Virginia Youth Tobacco Projects Research Coalition was established (PI is Dr. Alison Breland). Coalition activities to date have included a small grants program, five major statewide research conferences, smaller coalition meetings (annual) and targeted funding of multi-university sponsored research projects.
In 2008, 2011 and 2014, reports describing all funded work by coalition members were described. In 2017, the format was changed to a database that now includes all published articles by VYTP researchers beginning in 2002. The database is updated periodically. Given the complex and multidimensional nature of adolescent tobacco use, the VFHY has funded a wide variety of research studies, including animal models of adolescent tobacco use, genetic studies in humans and animals, human laboratory studies, epidemiological studies, studies of interventions and policy studies.